However, Wang Chunyun still could not fully understand Chongzhen's overly divergent thinking, and only a moment later, the emperor continued to say to him: "Maybe for the Manchus, the so-called peace means that the two sides stop military interaction, but for us, the cessation of military operations does not mean real peace.

I think you know the inside story of the financial crisis in Shenyang last year better than anyone else. War does not have to be confrontation with swords, and sometimes economic confrontation is also a war without gunpowder.

So we will give peace to the Manchurians, but in our way. At the same time as the suspension of military operations, we will start another form of war. And the protagonist of this war is the merchant of the Ming Dynasty. ”

Wang Chunyun was naturally puzzled by the emperor's statement, and he had to ask the other party for advice: "How should this war be carried out as Your Majesty said?" After such a crisis, I'm afraid that the Manchurians will also learn a lesson, right?

Moreover, Fan Yongdou also fled Shenyang, and now there is no such internal response in the Manchu Qing Dynasty that is familiar with finance. If you want to replicate this kind of war again, I'm afraid that the ministers may not be able to do it, right? ”

Zhu Youzhen shook his head and said: "Financial war is not only in such a form, after such a financial crisis, Daqing Yuan has basically lost its credit. We should be grateful to Fan Yongdou for forcibly confiscating gold, silver and Ming Yuan in order to promote the use of Daqing Yuan banknotes, which makes all kinds of physical assets in Shenyang now calculated in Daqing Yuan at a very low level.

It can be said that the Manchus are in a much worse situation than we are now, we just depreciate the paper money too quickly, and their paper money has completely lost its credit. Without the input of external mobility, the Manchus would soon revert to the stage of barter. So for now, it's the best time for us to get our hands on those physical assets in the hands of the Manchus. ”

Although Wang Chunyun also knew that this was a good time to buy Manchu assets at a low price, in the past few years, the largest export target of Manchu timber, soybeans and other primary agricultural and forestry products was the Ming Dynasty.

With the suspension of trade between the two countries due to the arrest of Ming merchants by the Manchus last year, coupled with the ensuing financial crisis, the goods in the hands of Manchu merchants were almost smashed in their hands. These businessmen are not the small businessmen who used to make profits, but the big businessmen who invested in the industry through the expansion of loans.

The creditors who borrowed from them did not want these goods such as timber and soybeans, nor the rapidly depreciating Qing Yuan, but gold and silver or the Ming Yuan that could really preserve their value.

Therefore, in such a situation, these Manchu merchants could only choose to sell their inventory or even their business names at a low price. And if these inventories and firms are taken over by Ming merchants at a low price, they will be able to get all the investments back in less than a year.

But such a beautiful thing, they can only think about it. Because the Manchus were not subject countries such as Korea and Japan after all, they still had such a force in their hands that did not give face to the Ming Dynasty.

When the merchants of the Ming Dynasty put their money into the prosperous market, the Manchurians may turn a blind eye. But once they make money and want to bring it back, the other party may turn over the table. Isn't it because of last year's financial crisis that all profits could not be transferred?

Wang Chunyun couldn't help but vaguely express his worries to Chongzhen, but Zhu Youzhen suddenly smiled, changed the topic and said: "Since the foundation of Xinxue was laid, the exploration of the world we live in has begun to become the most hotly discussed topic among young people.

However, we have not noticed that human society itself is also an object worth studying. How did human beings evolve step by step from a primitive tribe without class to a complete state like the Ming Dynasty?

Take the Jianzhou Jurchens as an example, when this ethnic group lived in the deep mountains and old forests and dispersed into various independent tribes, even Nurhachi himself had no difference in food and clothing from ordinary tribesmen.

However, after the establishment of the Jurchen in Jianzhou and the establishment of the country in Liaodong, the relationship between the upper class and the lower people of this nation is not far from the social form of our Ming Dynasty.

In my opinion, whether it is the gentry class of the Ming Dynasty or the Eight Banners of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, in fact, we can call it the ruling class of the country. And the people at the bottom of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, like the people at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty, were essentially the ruling class of the country.

It is true that now there was a war between the Ming and the Manchus, but what was the essence of this war? Is it a country that completely annihilates another nation, or a nation that completely annihilates another people?

I don't think it's any, but the current war between the Ming and the Manchus is, in essence, nothing more than a struggle between the ruling classes of the two countries for the right to enslave the ruled.

This contradiction between the ruling class and the ruling class is not an irreconcilable contradiction. We have always been able to find a common language with them in the ways in which we oppress and enslave the ruled classes.

Therefore, if you want to receive the physical assets of the Manchu Qing at a low price, the important thing is not to compete with the Manchu elites for interests, but to unite with them to squeeze the Manchu people at the bottom. With the exception of Huang Taiji, the Khan of the Manchu Dynasty, we could work with anyone in the upper echelons of the Manchu Dynasty.

Whether it is the lure of interests, or the kidnapping of interests, to destroy the mutual trust between the upper and lower layers of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, this is the war you are going to face. ”

The amount of information contained in the emperor's words was too large, Wang Chunyun felt that his brain was a little insufficient for a while, his heart was excited and trembling, and he didn't know what to say.

In the dark, the emperor seems to be opening the door to a new world for him, in which money is power, power, everything.

After that, Wang Chunyun couldn't remember the content of the conversation with the emperor clearly, until he left Xiyuan and returned home, he felt that his brain had been dizzy.

Immersed in the vast number of books in the library, Xifu almost forgot what he came to Beijing for. It was only when he was about to leave for the library that morning when he was stopped by the steward of the lodging to inform him that the negotiators of the imperial court were waiting for him, that he realized that his short leisure time had come to an end.

This negotiator, who is known as the imperial secretary of the Ming Emperor, is really not a humble and polite gentleman to Xifu. He overturned almost all of the political demands brought by Hefford, which at one point made Heifo want to suspend the negotiations.

But the economic conditions given by the representative brought him back to the negotiating table again. If a sum of money can be obtained from the Ming Dynasty to solve the domestic economic problems, this will undoubtedly allow the Qing Dynasty to recover its strength faster, which is a good thing no matter how you look at it.

But then the representative of the Ming Dynasty actually put forward many impossible conditions for this fund, such as opening Yingkou as a free port; The Ming Dynasty sent representatives to approve the tariffs on Manchu export goods as collateral; Under the supervision of the economic advisers sent by the Ming Dynasty, the economic system of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was rationally reformed, etc., which made the negotiations once again deadlocked.

There are some things that Xifu can't make decisions on his own, and he also needs to communicate with Shenyang. The documents went back and forth between Shenyang and Beijing once, and half a month passed. Therefore, Xifu, who originally thought that this negotiation would be the same as the previous peace talks, and that a basic framework would be reached within two or three months, had not yet reached a consensus with Wang Chunyun when the spring blossomed in Beijing.

And when the spring of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen arrived, the signs of drought this year began to show. Under the monitoring of meteorological observatories in various places, the number of areas affected by the drought reported is even higher than last year.

This year, except for the Henan region, which is still the center of the drought, the drought-stricken area has crossed the Gyeonggi area to the north and the Yangtze River region to the south.

For this reason, in mid-March, Zhu Youzhen had no choice but to convene a special state meeting on the issue of fighting drought and providing disaster relief this year. The heads of the various departments of the imperial court were summoned to discuss how to deal with the harbingers of such a large-scale drought.

Most officials are still skeptical about the weather forecasts submitted by meteorological stations in various places. Some people even think that this is a bit unfounded, after all, March has not ended, and there may not be rain in time.

Of course, because of the frequent natural disasters in the past 30 years, a few officials have become accustomed to it, so these predictions are very acceptable. But they accept and accept, and they can't come up with any coping strategies.

The meeting lasted all morning, but apart from the arguments among the courtiers, Chongzhen did not hear a single idea that he found useful.

Qian Qianyi and other officials of the New Donglin Party have always had the mentality of luck, believing that the wind and rain and thunder are the will of heaven and cannot be measured by mortals. Therefore, it is also possible that the forecasts given by meteorological observatories in various places are wrong.

At this moment, it is necessary to make all-round preparations for fighting the drought with these predictions, and it will have no real significance except to frighten the local people, urge the local wealthy households to hoard grain, and push up the price of grain. Therefore, it is better to be still than to be still, and it is better to continue to observe for a while.

However, Liu Zongzhou, Zuo Guangxian and others believe that when the drought has already been revealed, it is not the fault to take precautions, and it is the biggest problem to be helpless and wait and see.

Zuo Guang first asked Qian Qianyi: "Shoufu said that he would continue to observe for a while, but it is already mid-March, and March and April are already green and yellow, once the drought is confirmed, where does Shoufu plan to transfer grain from?" Could it be that if you don't do anything now, then Shoufu will be able to conjure up food? ”

Qian Qianyi was speechless, and Qu Shiyun had to come out to the rescue and said: "Lord Zuo also knows that now is the time when the green and yellow are not harvested, so dare to ask where to allocate food from now to take precautions?" Is it the same as last year, still have to requisition grain from the gentry everywhere? But now there is no harvest in the fields, and even the gentry don't have so much grain in their homes? ”

Qu Shiyun's counterattack made Zuo Guangxian not dare to discuss this issue in depth, but Liu Zongzhou, who was on the side, said: "At least now you can ask Your Majesty to ask for rain and reassure the hearts of the people, it is better than not doing anything." ”

Qu Shiyun, who advocated new learning, immediately retorted: "It is an astronomical phenomenon if the weather is sunny and not rainy, and if it does not rain, won't it make the people panic even more?" ”

Liu Zongzhou said disappreciatively: "If it doesn't rain and the problem can't be solved, then the ruling government of the DPRK and China should automatically ask for it, so as to conform to the will of heaven and the people..."

(. = )